


Lights A'Tangle

by Oak_Leaf



Category: The Silver Eye (Webcomic)
Genre: Background Noah St. Claire/Ruya St. Claire, Christmas, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Fluff, Gen, Noah having sad angsty man times while pretending he's not, Sibling Bonding, TSE Secret Santa, yes pigeondove counts as a character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-19 06:35:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20205322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oak_Leaf/pseuds/Oak_Leaf
Summary: Noah helps decorate the orphanage for Christmas.





	Lights A'Tangle

A tangled knot of black cord and multi-colored light bulbs dropped in Noah’s lap, wrinkling his newspaper and startling the bird that had been nestling in his hair. It coos and flaps, and its clawed feet dig into his scalp. He nudged the creature off before scowling up at—his sister. Her unseeing eyes sparkled at a point over his shoulder as she beamed, far too cheerful for someone who had just lobbed something at a man trying to have a moment of peace.

Idony’s ever-present entourage of orphans swarmed behind her with giggles and shrieks as they plastered the nearby walls and window with tissue-paper snowflakes, wreaths.

There went the one quiet corner of this infernal building.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“Christmas lights, silly. Mom announced at breakfast that we’re decorating the orphanage today, remember?” She nudged him. “Someone needs to hang the lights on the roof, and since you’ve just been sitting back here being lonely…”

“Who’s lonely?”

“I don’t know, maybe the grumpy boy hiding from everyone else.”

“I’m—“ he pulled his newspaper out from under the lights, and shook it “—enjoying alone time.”

It had taken three days into his visit home to become exasperated with everything. All the orphanage’s usual chaos, but now with squeaky voices shrieking carols off-key, and his mother’s attempts to dress up their lives with holly and pine. As if garland and red ribbons would be enough to hold things together. It might fool her, and it might fool Idony, but he could see straight through to the cracks ridding that cozy domestic scene. So, corner. And chair. And newspaper. And quiet. Even if the newspaper was mostly nonsense fawning over Velvare, it was better than trailing after Idony while she chased runny-nosed toddlers, and risking being roped into chasing after one himself.

“You can enjoy alone on the roof, while taking part of the Christmas spirit by hanging lights,” Idony tried. “Please?”

“I’ll pass.”

“_Noah_,” she pleaded. “The children have been looking forward Christmas lights sparkling outside when it gets dark.”

What a wonderful way to teach them about all the disappointment life had in store, Noah thought. He set the tangle of light back in Idony’s hand. 

The kids would have to live with this disappointment, and prepare themselves for the many more life would have in store, Noah wanted to say. He thought about saying. He was ready to say, until Idony turned her eyebrows up and pouted her lips, and blinked her eyes pitifully. 

“Alright!” Noah groaned. “Don’t make that face, and I’ll help.”

“Fine, I guess I’ll just have to take care of it myself.” She turned on her heel and marched around the corner. Her head reappeared. “_All_ by myself. On the roof.” She disappeared again.

Groaning, Noah dropped the newspaper and stood. “Alright, alright. Don’t fall and break your neck.”

* * *

Many long, frustrating minutes of untangling later, Noah stood atop the ladder, hanging the string of lights from nails on the roof’s edge. Idony hadn’t gone back inside like he expected, but instead insisted on steadying the ladder for him. She kept up chatter, and Noah grunted responses while his fingers frozen, and the feather-headed bird flitted from his hair to the trees and back again.

“Do they have Christmas in the East?” Idony asked, after a brief pause.

Noah glanced at where she stood below. Both hands held the ladder to tightly, and her face was tilted up curiously. He turned back to the roof’s edge, running a hand through his hair, finding several sticks and a leaf. He brushed them out. Dumb bird.

“Sort of,” he called down.

“Sort of how?”

“They celebrate a little differently, with more than we do in Gallitan.”

“Like what?”

While Noah moved the ladder and started on the next section of the roof, he thought about how to describe it. Unbidden, the memory came to him of the last year, when hadn’t returned to the West during the university’s winter break. Packed into the cramped flat Ruya shared with another student, as she and her friends taught him the traditions and rituals, and laughed when he almost set himself on fire one week.

“They light candles,” he explained to Idony. “One for each week leading up to Christmas night. The whole month is an ordeal, with celebrations for holy figures, and calendars, and wreaths every where you turn.” 

He thought about how Ruya had surprised him with a small present that first night, but after that, he had searched for the perfect little gifts, and delighted in her smiles as she opened them. “It’s exhausting.”

“It sounds magical! A month of Christmas.” And even twenty feet in the air above her, Noah could hear the wistful expression in her voice. “I wish I could visit for it.”

His fingers tightened, clenching on the edge of the roof until it felt like the ice would crack under them. A shouted _no_ bubbled up and caught in his throat. Idony couldn’t go to the East. Idony couldn’t make that journey. He wouldn’t let them touch her mind like they did to his.

He took a breath, and relaxed his fingers.

“As if you’d ever leave these brats, especially at Christmas,” he said gruffly. “The lights are finished, and I’m climbing down.”

Noah didn’t look at his sister as he picked up the ladder and walked it back to the shed. 

“Don’t be rude,” she called after him. “We don’t have any brats, just grumpy old Scrooges with no hearts.”

He shut the door, and turned. There was a small whoosh of air and a gentle weight on his shoulder, as that bird returned and nestled into his coat’s collar. He let it stay. The corner of his mouth twitched upwards. “Now who’s being rude?”

Two steps and he was standing beside her. Idony put hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

“Does the orphanage look very pretty?”

“Yes,” Noah deadpanned, taking her arm and leading her back inside with him, “the lights are very pretty, and definitely do not just spell out ‘Velvare sucks’ across the roof.”

She shoved him. “You wouldn’t dare! I’d have the children ambush you with snowballs when you go out to smoke one of those awful cigars, as punishment.” They stepped into the warm air and noise of the orphanage. “Also, you’re helping us decorate the tree. No objections!”

“Sure, if only because someone needs to keep Enel from eating the popcorn off the strings.”

Idony smiled, looking satisfied, and reached up to pat his head. And frowned.

“Why is there…bark in your hair?”

**Author's Note:**

> Written for wizardthatsademigod on tumblr, for the 2018 TSE Secret Santa exchange. Let's pretend that this world has electric lights Christmas lights, hm?


End file.
